Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections: The war of words between the Congress and Samajwadi Party over seat sharing in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh seems to escalate, as former Chief Minister Kamal Nath gave a cult reply to Akhilesh Yadav when asked about betrayal allegations.
Here's what Kamal Nath said
When asked about SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav's allegations of "betrayal" against Congress, Kamal Nath said, '"Are bhai chhodo Akhilesh Vakhilesh' (Forget about Akhilesh Yadav)."
Talking to reports, the veteran Congress leader exuded confidence in forming a government in Madhya Pradesh. "The environment is very good. People are calling us and telling us that there is enthusiasm amongst the people. We will win with an even better number than we had expected. There is going to be a Congress government in Madhya Pradesh," he said.
Akhilesh Yadav accused Congress of betrayal
Earlier on Thursday, Akhilesh Yadav accused Congress of betrayal. He said that they were assured that six seats would be given to the Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh.
Yadav further alleged that some "Congress leaders are siding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he would not have trusted the grand old party if he had known that "Congress would betray them".
"If we had known that there was no alliance of INDIA bloc (of Samajwadi Party and Congress) in Madhya Pradesh for assembly elections, then we would not have sent our people to hold discussions with Congress," he said.
Responding to the Congress party's argument that the INDIA alliance was meant for national politics and not assembly elections, he said, "The state chief has no authority. He was not there in the meeting held at Patna and Mumbai. What does he know about the INDIA alliance? These people from Congress are involved with the BJP. If I had known that the alliance is not on the state level then I would not have sent SP leaders to Digvijaya Singh...I would not have trusted them if I had known that people from Congress would betray us."
'Who will trust Congress, if they behave like this'
"If Congress didn't want to give seats (in MP), then they should have said it before. Today, SP is fighting only on seats where it has its own organisation. Now after Madhya Pradesh, I know that the INDIA alliance is for the (parliamentary) elections on a national level. If Congress continues to behave like this, then who will trust them? If we fight with confusion in mind against the BJP, then we won't succeed," he added.
Congress releases second list of 85 candidates
The Congress released its second list of 85 candidates for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election late on Thursday night. Congress gave a ticket to Atif Akil, son of sitting MLA Arif Akil, from Bhopal North. Ravindra Singh Tomar got a ticket against Narendra Singh Tomar from Dimani while Abhay Mishra has been fielded from Simaria. Congress also gave a to Girja Shankar from Hoshangabad, who switched from BJP. Kamlesh Shah from Amarwada, Sohan Valmiki from Parasia and Nilesh Uike from Pandhurna have also been named in the second list of candidates.
According to PTI, insiders from both parties said that the Congress had apparently agreed to leave six seats for the Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh. However, that did not materialise.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections
The election to the 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to be held on November 17, while the counting of votes will take place on December 3.
In the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress had won 114 seats, while the BJP got 109. However, the Congress government fell after many MLAs under the leadership of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who later became a Union minister, joined the BJP. The BJP returned to power in March 2020 with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister for a fresh term. The BJP's current strength in the assembly is 127.
(With agencies input)
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